tilapia

Etymology

From translingual Tilapia, from Tswana tlhapi (“fish”). The drag race slang usage is a reference to the comment by Gia Gunn on entering Ru Paul's Drag Race (season 6) "Just landed like fresh tilapia".

noun

1. Any of various edible fish, formerly species of the genus Tilapia, but now placed in other cichlid genera (such as Oreochromis), native to Africa and the Middle East but cultivated worldwide.
   Well I dined last night with Scarface Ron 2006, Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan, Bottom of the World
2. (drag slang) A fishy (resembling a cisgender woman) drag queen; A drag queen who could pass for a woman, as opposed to one who is exaggeratedly feminine.
   Vietnamese tilapia Plastique Tiara was at the forefront of one of Drag Race's most controversial eliminations earlier this year. Although the Texan performer and biological woman was leaving us gooped week-after-week with her runways, she was – spoiler alert! – eliminated in eighth place after lip-syncing against Miss Vanjie, despite having a better track record. 13 June 2019, Sam Damshenas, “Drag Race star Plastique Tiara wants to be a "pioneer" for the queer Asian community”, in Gay Times, London: Gay Times Ltd, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-08-01